


Mercy Has A Human Heart - Hiatus

by TheCowboysexualPyro



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: But also are working through your own issues, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Facebook Status: It's Complicated, Hint of V/Reader at the beginning, Misunderstandings, On Hiatus, Reader is Nero (Devil May Cry)'s Mother, Slow Burn, So kind of healing together too, Somewhat canon divergent, Y'all still have lingering feelings for each other, lovers to enemies to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:54:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21790363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCowboysexualPyro/pseuds/TheCowboysexualPyro
Summary: It's been years since Vergil left your life without warning and upon helping save the city of Red Grave you come across a mysterious figure named V who seems eerily like him. After learning his true identity, you face him about everything he's done, but he seems willing to make amends. Perhaps you can finally face your past, repair your broken family, and win back the love that first swept you off your feet.
Relationships: Vergil (Devil May Cry)/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 104





	1. Cruel, Jealous, Selfish Fear

**15 June, AM 6:04**

“I know, I know, I’m late. Shut it!” came the voice of Nico from the front of the van. “The roads were all clogged.”

You really weren’t one for early mornings, but the city had gone to hell and the others were already hard at work about two hours ago. There truly was no rest for the wicked, it seemed. Nico’s crazy driving had jolted you awake by tossing you onto the floor, causing you to groan in irritation and rub at the small sensations of pain blossoming all over your body. She couldn’t see it, but you glared daggers into the back of Nico’s head. You could feel a slight tinge of anger bubble up in your throat, but it was probably about time to wake up anyway. The fight for the city continued on whether you had enough sleep or not.

Hearing Nico’s voice shout out, you surmised she must’ve been talking to your son, Nero. You got up and obtained your glaive, Silver Siren, from Nico’s workbench. The modifications she’s been adding to it seemed to be coming along well, making the glaive function a little like Nero’s Red Queen, and was itching for a test run. It had been a few days since you’ve gotten to lay your hands on this baby that it felt great just to feel the weight of it again. You strapped it to your back as Nico continued talking out the window of the van. “Hey, you must be V, huh?”

V? It had been a while since you’d seen the mysterious client. Dante hadn’t initially enlisted in your help for this mission, saying he could handle it plenty and that Trish and Lady were only going along as per Morrison’s request. And yet as far as you know now, all three of them are gone. Not even Nero could help save the day. Suffice it to say, since you weren’t involved much in the beginning, you only saw V in passing and were never properly introduced. Nico rattled on at the boys as you exited the van and took in a breath of fresh air, stretching the aches and drowsiness out of your limbs before rounding the corner of the van.

“Did you just sniff that? Do you have any idea where that’s been?” came the voice of Nero.

You could hear the cheeky tone in Nico’s voice as she said, “Up your butt?”

A small chuckle escaped your lips, somehow predicting that comment yet being unable to fully contain yourself nonetheless. Nero glanced over to see that the chuckle did indeed belong to his mother before he turned back to Nico and told, “Focus on the mission.” Nero made his way towards you and gave a loose but warm side-hug. “Rise and shine, finally?”

“More like rise and whine,” you told, giving a small chuckle. “Nico’s reckless driving woke me up.”

“You’re welcome,” softly came Nico’s voice, her tone very sassy.

“Ah yes, thank you for the bruises!” you retorted in a faux friendly voice, waving away her comment. “But whatever, I should be up anyway.”

V slowly approached the two of you as he rounded the van. His eyes stared into you and seemed to widen when you shared his gaze, though of curiosity or concern you didn’t know. He seemed to quickly tear his eyes away from yours as he reached for his book and flipped to a certain page, speaking the poem within aloud. 

_“Never seek to tell thy love,_

_Love that never told can be;_

_For the gentle wind does move_

_Silently, invisibly.”_

As he approached, he snapped the book closed with a bit of a flourish and placed it back within his vest. “You’re one of Dante’s associates, are you not?” he regarded you, bowing his head a bit in greeting. “I remember catching a glimpse of you several times.”

“Oh yeah, you never really met each other,” added Nero. He gestures to the two of you. “Mom, this is V, the guy who led us to Urizen. V, this is [Y/N], my mother.”

“Oh, I’ve seen you around, too. Nice to meet you!” You reached out your hand for a handshake and he stares at it for a moment, seemingly hesitant. You were about to retract your hand when he reached out and lifted it as if to lay a soft kiss on your knuckles, and yet he simply bowed his head towards you instead.

“ _And around our souls entwine…_ The pleasure is all mine,” he stated, releasing your hand. 

V’s character certainly seemed very odd and mysterious, which stayed true to the descriptions. However, there was something deeper that seemed a little too familiar. The way he recited his poetry, the look in his eyes, the slight smug smile, not to mention one of the lines sounded very familiar but no matter how much you racked your brain you couldn’t think of the author. Nonetheless, he somehow reminded you a little of a certain someone, but there was no way he could be…

Suddenly, V straightened up and brushed past the two of you towards the van’s door. “Now that we’ve been properly introduced, let us continue on our journey.”

As V let himself in, you made the quiet comment to your son, “You really weren’t wrong, huh?”

Nero let out a huff of amusement. “Like I said, quite the character. Really likes being cryptic with those poems of his.”

Everyone piled into the car and Nico drove more towards the inner city. It was agreed upon that the three of you would break up into groups to cover more ground. Nico went rattling on about her “lethal art” and how Nero ought to know they were worth every dime, not just materials. You promised her she would be properly compensated for all the time and trouble she went through to modify your own sword and create the Devil Breakers for Nero, even if you weren’t quite sure what would be suitable yet since cash seemed a little out of the question at that time. Before you and Nero headed out, V was the first to go, saying if he didn’t see you on the way then he’ll see you at the bottom of the Qliphoth.

You were about to head out with your son when Nico grabbed you by the shoulder. “[Y/N], I got something special for ya!” She coaxed you over to her workbench and went behind the table, quickly bending over and rummaging around in one of the cabinets for something. After a few seconds of clunking around, Nico popped back up with a grappling hook shot in one hand as she reached out her other expectantly. “I also got Leviathan functioning again, just didn’t have the time to attach it.”

“Oh, I figured you were probably still working on it,” you said, handing her Silver Siren. 

Nico went ahead and strapped it on tight to the other end of the glaive, taking a brief moment to admire her work before you retrieved it again. “Ohhhhh, she’s a real beauty! Make sure you take care of her!”

“I’ll try my best… And thanks for all your hard work!” you replied back, making your way out of the van in contemplation. If Dante was alive or not, maybe letting her disassemble Ebony & Ivory would be suitable payment for everything she’s done?

\-----

**15 June, AM 7:56**

“Search for the Devil Sword Sparda. You know where it is... He told me to leave it be, but I'm afraid it still concerns me.”

The sound of the feminine demonic voice caused you to quickly take refuge amongst the rubble of the city. Chances were if the demon was humanoid or could actually talk, then they were more formidable than the small fry you mostly dealt with. You took a peek over the ruin of bricks to survey the scene ahead.

“As long as there is a blood descendant of Sparda... I cannot take any chances. Do you understand!?”

A three-headed feminine figure sat atop what looked to be a giant and grotesque baby bird with clawed arms and… spider legs sticking out of it? She looked to be commanding an armored individual with horns protruding upwards and wings draping over his shoulders as he sat atop a horse with a blue-flamed mane and glowing blue horns. She sounded the slightest bit frantic in her angry command.

“Find it, and destroy it! Only then will his reign be truly realized!”

The female demon then went and opened a purple portal, which she promptly disappeared through. You thought then was your time to strike, but it seemed another individual wanted to beat you to the punch. In the corner of your eye, you saw V appear from behind a wall and stare down the cavaliere. The knight greeted his presence by extending his sword into a pronged weapon. Jagged streaks of purple lightning flashed along the length of the sword as the rider growled in V’s direction.

“I see. I know what you are.” As V spoke to the purple knight, you rose from the rubble to let V know you were there, but signalled him with a finger pressed to your lips. “Don’t worry,” V told, smacking his cane against his open palm. You swore you saw his eyes flick towards you before he said, “I’ll be gentle.”

You tried your best to ignore that particular line, despite the rose tint inevitably painting your cheeks, and decided to kick it into gear. As V pointed his cane at the demon with a flourish, you took a running start off the rubble and leapt off with Silver Siren raised above your head, piercing down towards the rider.

The knight seemed to hear you coming and looked behind to see your shadow stretch over him. He raised his pronged sword to block your glaive.

V took the opportunity to strike, summoning forth the swirls of his tattoos which weaved into the leaping Shadow. The black panther sprung forward, transforming into rotating blades which propelled into the blue-flamed horse.

The horse whined in pain as the knight pushed your blow away, sending you flying backwards.

As V observed from afar, Griffon swooped in and pecked at the rider, flying away before sweeping streaks of red lightning across the field. The rider singed, but seemed a little unphased.

You ran forward and swiped at the horse’s hind legs as it screeched and its knees buckled.

Griffon sent more lightning streaking towards the knight as a low, almost guttural voice came from the armor. “Weak, powerless creatures,” he taunted, swinging around and taking a swipe at you.

You rolled away from the attack and swung back. “Weak, my ass!”

Griffon craned his head towards V as his lightning onslaught continued. “You got a comeback for that?”

V snapped his fingers, turning his hair white. More tattoos raised from V’s form. “ _One thought fills immensity…_ ” 

“This is not the time for poetry!” Griffon screamed as Nightmare came plummeting down onto the rider, causing the horse to stumble. “Wait, what does that even mean?”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way… Now let’s go!” V’s hand shoots out in a fist, as if to emphasize Nightmare’s swing against the rider.

You take the chance to run up Nightmare’s hulking stature and land a strike against the rider’s shoulder, spinning out of his reach before you land back on the ground. You take another sneaky slash against the horse’s legs, twisting the ignition to test out the new mods Nico just installed. The glaive screeched to life and the force from the exhaust drove the blade deeper into the horse’s metallic flesh. The rider tried to knock you back with his empty hand, but you managed to spring backwards just in time to avoid his rage. In the distance, you can see V dancing with his cane to the sounds of battle, which caused you to squint in both amusement and confusion.

Griffon sent forth sheets of red lightning once more as the rider shot forth streaks of purple towards V. V effortlessly shadow-stepped aside to avoid each bolt.

The horse stood on its hind legs and whinnied loudly as a blue forcefield appeared around it. You, Shadow, and Nightmare were caught in its pull as time seemed to slow for you, but not for the rider. The knight took a sweeping slice with his sword, nicking Nightmare’s shoulder and grazing your back. The sting of the cut and the searing pain of the lightning caused you to grind your teeth and hiss, though the strike effectively pushed you out of the blue bubbles effect and stumbling onto the cobblestone.

“The power to control time… That’s quite a horse,” commented V from afar.

“But that would mean it’s Geryon! I thought Dante killed it already!” Griffon shouted, shooting a beam at the knight’s head, though he seemed to take it.

“Dante fought one of these before?” you questioned, surveying the standstill’s area of effect. “Was this back in his early days of Devil May Cry?”

“Not quite. It’s a rare species he fought before his devil hunting days, but apparently it’s not quite extinct. Until today, that is.”

Shadow seemed mid-attack in extending its shoulders into pointed tendrils, and the bubble let up in time to allow the points to stab straight into the horse’s side, earning a pained whinny.

Nightmare threw another punch at the rider before turning into black goo, oozing into the floor and disappearing. V’s tattoos seemed somewhat more visible and his hair returned to its raven black.

The flurry of blade strikes, sheets of lightning, and blur of shadows seemed to continue on for a while until the horse lifted its head back in a deafening cry. The world around you turned monochromatic as the horse ran forth into a ripple in the fabric of time, disappearing from view. Suddenly, the rider appeared next to you and swung his sword faster than ever before. You just barely blocked with your glaive and skidded backwards. He pointed his sword and sent forth a bolt of lightning, giving you no time to dodge. There was no way you could block it with your big, metallic, lightning rod of a glaive, so you did the first thing that came to mind - you screamed. The scream that erupted from your throat sent you soaring more backwards as a sonar force sprung forth and deflected the purple bolt back at the knight’s head. 

You heard him momentarily grunt in pain as he directed his sword towards V instead, sending forth multiple jagged streaks of purple. V shadow-stepped away from one, but they were too quick. You whipped forth Leviathan, pulling a block of rubble in the way as one bolt eviscerated the brick, and you leapt forward with a sonorous scream to deflect the other one. The rider groaned and disappeared into another ripple. The gurgling feeling of nausea bubbled up in your throat after that second scream, but you tried your best to shake it off.

You and V shared a glance of camaraderie, speaking unshared thanks with his gaze, before the rider was upon you once again in the middle of the arena. He rose his sword high above his head as walls of purple lightning seared around him.

This time, V pulled you out of its reach with his shadow-step.

“Be careful! He’s got horsepower!” warned Griffon, retaliating with his own line of searing red streaks as Shadow tore into the side of the horse.

“I’ll take that momentum… and send it right back.” With a flick of his wrist, V snapped his fingers, turning his hair white once more. The monochromatic view disappeared just as Nightmare came crashing down once again. The knight slashed at him as he recovered from the fall, though the behemoth seemed unphased. As Nightmare threw a punch at the rider you watched as V seemed to be… conducting? He swung his arms and his cane in big gestures as if he were commanding an orchestra.

“Yep, quite the character,” you muttered under your breath as you ran in for a jumping stab, landing squarely in the knight’s shoulder. The horse’s knees buckled and fell.

V rushed forward and took his first and last personal strike of the battle, plunging his cane deep within the neck of the horse. “ _The hours of folly are measur’d by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure._ Die!”

V swiftly pulled his cane out and used the force to jump off. The horse fell and began disintegrating into blue sparks of flame as the rider was thrown into a locked gate. His armor clipped the chain keeping it shut and broke it wide open. V began to stalk towards the knight as he scrambled to get up on his feet, however the knight made his getaway when V fell to his knees.

“V!” you screamed out, running towards him. You knelt beside him and checked for any injuries, but were unable to find any. “Are you okay? Do you need any help?”

V’s hair slowly faded to raven black alongside the sounds of his familiars melting away behind you. “I’m fine,” he panted, slowly rising back to his feet with the help of his cane. “I appreciate your kindness, but I must chase after him.”

You throw him a questioning glance. “You sure about that?”

“Of course. If the Devil Sword Sparda still exists as they said, it may very well be our only hope.”

“Oh, it still exists, alright,” you tell him, recalling the times you’ve fought with Dante’s gang. “Trish wields it but… Trish went to face Urizen with Dante.”

V spots a piece of the horse’s horn on the ground, still glowing blue with faint speckles of flame emanating off of it. He bends down to pick it up and looks behind him to see Nico’s van. “Worry not. Once we are near the Sparda, even I should be able to sense its presence.”

You ponder V’s character for a bit, recalling all you saw during the battle and all Nero has told you. Nero said before he’s not quite sure what to think of V and isn’t entirely sure whether he’s human or demon. He claimed to be human, and yet he used shadow familiars to fight. Then again, you can’t fully judge him based on that considering you’re not fully human anymore either. But there was definitely something strange in the shadows he wielded, and the flash of white his hair would turn once all his familiars came out to play.

V must’ve felt your pensive gaze as he stared back at you. “Is something the matter?”

You blinked rapidly, breaking out of your thoughts. “Sorry, I was just… I thought I was the only human with, uh… y’know, non-human powers.”

Smooth. This guy was breaking out poetry and talking like a Victorian aristocrat and you were just haphazardly stringing words together… Then again, he was also doing so while dressed like a goth kid, but he always seemed to sound so… _so smooth_.

“I meant to ask you the same,” he replied, sticking the horse’s horn in his vest. “Where did you obtain the ability to produce such a sonorous scream?”

You faltered for a bit, images of Fortuna and The Order flashing through your mind. It had been years since your last visit and you expected that returning would mean you would finally face your fears and get over it, but some traumas just don’t shake off that easy. “Um… I, uh…”

“Rather not say?” V flashed a small smirk, playfully swinging his cane about. “ _The questioner, who sits so sly, shall never know how to reply._ ”

And there were those poems again. Not that you minded, but they all sounded so vaguely familiar… “You recite those poems so much. Where’d you get them all from? Who’s the author?”

V took a long pause, promptly stilling his cane. His eyes scanned the cobblestone, trying but failing to hide the worry within them. He set the tip of his cane back down onto the mortar indent in the street and pulled out a small book from his vest. The book is bound in brown leather with the letter “V” in gold, encompassed by intricate lines with swirls and squares along the corners of the book. “It’s a collection from my youth. I’ve compiled them here,” he said, gesturing to the book before returning it to his vest and then pointing to his temple. “And here.” Without a second thought, V turned tail and headed for Nico’s van. “We’re running out of time. Let’s go.”

You stared at him as he walked away from you, wanting to examine him a little more. The poetry, the fancy talk, his smug smiles, the gait of his walk… They all seemed to remind you of that man you used to love, not to mention the occasional white hair as well. But it was all just coincidence… Right?

\-----

**15 June, AM 11:47**

After helping Lady and Nico dig rubble out of the road’s clearing and saying hi to your son after Nico nearly ran him over a cliff, you dedicated your time to making sure the town was as clear of demons as it possibly could be. You trusted the others to deal with the Qliphoth and Urizen as they already had been doing so, and Red Grave didn’t need anymore nasties already making themselves cozy.

It was weird seeing Red Grave so silent. You would probably enjoy it more if it wasn’t also reduced to rubble and occasionally included cackling, growling, or gurgling demons in the distance. You felt a little bad for thinking so, but there was almost something so serene about walking around the quiet city as the sun cascaded down onto the path ahead and weeds grew between cracked mortar and stone… Then the boredom kicked in. There really weren’t lots of demons left over, which meant the boys probably tackled most of them. The only ones that seemed to be left over were stragglers or ones that probably weren’t in either of the boys’ path. Though it seemed there were plenty still closer to the Qliphoth.

You started to make your way further towards the Qliphoth after defeating a batch of demons when you heard Trish’s voice.

“I’m not your mommy, V. You’re a big boy. And you need to see this through.”

You looked in the direction of her voice and sure enough, they were hanging out underneath one of the broken down overpasses. Trish began to walk away as V stood there, contemplative. As if detecting your presence, his head craned up towards you. You waved in return, wedging Leviathan into some concrete to swing down to his level. He approached you as you whipped Leviathan back into its place. “I see Trish is back,” you commented. “Any word on Dante?”

“Yes,” V told. “I tried to tell him something, but he’s as foolhardy as ever and raced away on a motorcycle.”

You paused for a moment and shot V a glance, seeing the playful smirk on his lips, but you really weren’t all that surprised that Dante somehow obtained a motorcycle. “Well, good to know he’s still him, I guess,” you chuckled, taking a closer look at V. It looked as if… V’s skin was slowly chipping and flaking off as if he were a statue withering away. “V, are you alright? What were you talking about with Trish just now?”

For once, he shied away from your gaze, his mouth visibly trying to form words. He closed his mouth and returned your gaze when he found them. “I’m fine, I was just telling her the story of my birth.”  
You giggled a little, caught off guard by the statement. “Really? Right now of all times?”

V’s smug smirk seemed to return. “Yes. What about you, [Y/N]? Where do you come from?”

You hesitated a bit at the question. Your past felt like one big nightmare you just woke up from years ago, but sharing it still brought pain to your heart. However, there was something so calming, so trusting and familiar about V that despite his mysterious nature, you felt compelled to tell him. “I grew up in Fortuna, but left and came here.”

“Fortuna,” he remarked. You saw a spark form in his eyes. “That’s the island that worships Sparda, correct? What made you leave?”

You let out a huff of air, attempting to unpack a story you’ve only ever told Dante and Nero. “It’s kind of a long story.”

V took a moment to slowly saunter over to a stack of tires and sat down with a gesture to the space around him. “I’ve always been one for stories. Tell me yours.”

“Alright,” you breathed, walking over and leaning against the wall adjacent to him. You crossed your arms as you recalled your past, taking a deep breath to quell your rapidly beating heart. “Fortuna was my hometown. I was slowly making a place of my own when I met a certain man, a demon. Embarrassingly enough, I fell in love with him and… he left. Found out I was pregnant with his child and it was obvious to the demons since they constantly tried to attack me. The Order found out, took me in for ‘protection’, ripped my baby away from me and proceeded to experiment on me. I managed to escape, but my body didn’t fully reject whatever they put inside me.”

Despite your fast heart and nausea in your throat, you managed a playful glance at V. “That’s how I got the scream, by the way.” You took in one more deep breath. “I ran as far as I could from Fortuna and all its nightmares. Found Dante and wanted revenge. He trained me to become stronger and I eventually went back, destroyed as much as I could of The Order with Dante and found my son, Nero, along the way.”

V’s eyes widened in bewilderment, a hint of sorrow tinging their surface. “I… I’m sorry for all the grief you’ve experienced.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, feeling the weight come off your chest through the exhale, you waved away his words. “It’s okay… Well, it’s not okay, but then again I try to justify that if I didn’t meet that bastard then I wouldn’t be here right now, would I?”

“He left without a word?”

V’s question seemed to drag the memory back into your mind. How you were still high from the afterglow the night before, opening your eyes to see an empty bed beside you. No note, only the slight imprint of his body that had long gone cold since he left. You rushed around your place, calling his name. No answer. You looked through every door. He wasn’t there. Hell, you even checked the alley and the street to make sure… He left without a word. 

“Yeah,” you told. “It was really weird. We seemed to be getting real close and he just hit it and quit it, I guess.” You gave a sad chuckle at your phrasing, but the memory still pierced you.  
V gave an understanding hum. “Perhaps he was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

V gave a vague gesture with his cane. “Afraid of attachment… Afraid of loss… He was a demon, after all.”

You scoffed a little at his comment. “Well, he could’ve at least said something instead of just leaving and making my life hell for the next couple of years.”

V then stood from his makeshift seat and made his way towards you, limping and struggling to keep his composure. Before you could say anything, he took your hand in his and, after tucking his cane underneath his arm, he cupped your hand between both of his. “I can’t imagine how much your life has changed for the worse since then.” It looked as if V were making another attempt to kiss your hand, but did the same as before and bowed his head. “I’m truly sorry for all the grief you’ve been put through.”

You threw him a curious glance. He seemed so sincere, so distraught over your story. It felt very unfitting of a stranger you just met. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault, anyway.”

V raised his head to meet your gaze. Suddenly you realized just how close he was as he leaned in, his face several inches away from yours. “Perhaps, but… the sentiment is still there.”

He suddenly tore one of his hands away to brace himself against the wall, his head nearly slamming into your shoulder as he groaned in pain. You swung your arms around him in an attempt to catch him if he fell. “V, what’s going on? You’re not fine, you’re crumbling and stumbling and-”

**15 June, PM 12:00**

The earth started to shake violently. Dust flew from the settled rubble and new cracks began to form upon them. Loose debris tumbled around you and the overpass beside you began to crumble once more for the first time in a month. “What is this?” you exclaimed.

“The Qliphoth,” came V’s voice as he straightened up. “We have to hurry.”

Trish re-emerged from the entryway, ushering you two towards her. “This way! The ground is unstable!”

You helped V steady himself as you both ran with Trish. “We must head for the Qliphoth! It’ll be safer inside,” he stated.

You didn’t know how he knew this, but you weren’t about to argue. You looked back and, seeing V trailing behind, grabbed his wrist and went booking for the Qliphoth, hoping everyone made it there in one piece.

\-----

**15 June, PM 12:37**

After stumbling and tripping and nearly losing V to a newly-formed canyon in the city, you finally made your way into the Qliphoth. You stepped through the entryway into a clearing and immediately saw Dante and Nico’s van. You breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. You didn’t realize you still had a death grip on V’s wrist until you met Dante’s gaze, staring down at your hands. You immediately released it and breathed a small “sorry” to V. He seemed to smirk as he went to sit down. You hoped Nero was in Nico’s van and bolted for it.

Upon slamming the van’s door open, you found Nero sitting on the van’s couch. Another sigh of relief escaped you as you lunged at him with a hug.

“Ack, hey!” Nero yelped, reluctantly returning the hug. “I’m fine, I’m fine!”

You still held onto him, but loosened your grip when you realized you were being a bit too forceful. “What, I’m not allowed to worry about my son?” you joked, though you truly did worry about him this whole time.

Nero sighed, relaxing into your warm embrace and tightening his arms around you, returning it more genuinely. “I know, I know. Glad to know you’re safe too, Mom.”

You gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat beside him, letting another sigh roll from your mouth. You noticed the small cuts and bruises on Nero’s face and pulled your mouth into a thin, disapproving line. It was part of both your jobs, though. Besides, you couldn’t imagine what you must’ve looked like. “So what’s been going on with you? What happened on your end?”

“Oh, you know, making the world a better place, one demon ass-kicking at a time. What about you?”

You chuckled at him. “Oh, just took a lovely stroll around our fine city, meeting some interesting pedestrians along the way. Had to also kick their asses, though, until the ground started to, uh… float?”

Nero gave an amused huff, stretching out and leaning back against the couch. “Sounds like a normal Saturday to me.”

Nico left the van in a hurry, leaving you two alone. You could hear her rattling off to Dante in the background. It had been a while since it was just you and your son. Even though you two suddenly grew silent and you were both inside a demon tree that grew off of human blood, it was still kind of nice. It felt like you were both too busy to really hang around each other.

Then your thoughts drifted to V again, remembering all Nero has told you about him. “Nero?”

“Yeah?”

You huffed, knowing what you were about to say would sound weird, but decided to give it a try anyway. “You know how I told you about your father?”

“Yeah?”

“Well…” You struggled to find the words, attempting to form them in your mouth as your brain processed your thoughts. “V seems an awful lot like him and it’s been bothering me.”

Another amused huff. “So my father was an emo band reject like V, huh?”

“No, no, I mean…” you chuckled out, taking a moment to gather your thoughts before speaking this time. “His mannerisms, the poetry, sometimes the way he acts reminds me of him and I don’t know why it bothers me so much.”

“Probably because he turned out to be a deadbeat,” he said, giving a small shrug. “Look, I’m sure that-”

Nero paused as the unexpected sound of music filled the van. You both looked out the window and saw Dante dancing and being a complete goof.

Nero groaned. “Hold on, I gotta go talk to this jackass.”

He promptly left the van and approached Dante. You watched out the window, taking this small respite to relax, until it looked like the two were about to fight. You sighed and rounded the van as V talked Dante into letting Nero join. “We must chase after him, post-haste.”

“What, does that mean you’re going, too?” Dante questioned.

Upon looking at V again, you just realized how broken V’s body was starting to look. There were visible cracks along his skin and the flakes steadily separated themselves from him. He even hunched over his cane more. He was deteriorating faster than when you found him by the overpass. “I have a duty to see this through.”

“Are you sure?”

All three men snapped their heads towards you. You didn’t entirely mean to say that out loud, but since you said it, you crossed your arms over your chest to firmly stand by your question.

“I’ll be fine,” V stated, struggling a bit in his saunter over to you before he placed a hand on your shoulder. “Trust me. I’ll return to you and then I will share with you my story.”

Fear bubbled up in your chest. His words felt sincere, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were going to lose someone again, lose him. But this was different. V wasn’t Vergil. You kept having to remind yourself that. Vergil was your lover and left many years ago without a word, V was a comrade and was just going to fight one last battle with his deteriorating body… Damn, that definitely didn’t make your anxiety any better.

“Well, if Mr. Poetry wants to go, he goes,” Dante claimed, already walking backwards towards the edge of the demonic ledge. “I’m gonna go my way, and you guys can go yours. Let’s just say that’s the best for the cause.”

Dante gave a two-fingered salute before he turned around and jumped into the endless stretch below. Nero followed suit and headed towards a different ledge.

“Hey!” you called out to your son. “Be careful, okay?”

He turned around and, seeing the worry on your face, gave a small smile. “I will. Besides,” he told, gesturing with the Devil Breaker. “I’ve got this on my side.”

He continued forward and jumped below, leaving you face-to-face with V. He looked so tired and worn out. Dark circles ran under his eyes and the cracks made him look more and more like a statue worn down by the elements. “You too,” you told him.

His hand trailed down your arm, sending shivers up your spine, until his hand cupped yours. You expected another bow of his head, but this time he brought his soft lips to your knuckles. “I will,” he told. “I will hold true to my promise.”

And with that gesture, he turned away from you and walked toward another demonic ledge, raising his hand high so that Griffon could sweep him up and carry him into the depths below. You looked down at the hand he kissed, still very confused about what he just said and did, and slowly pressed it against your burning cheeks. “V… What are you?”

\-----

**15 June, PM 4:17**

You and the girls remained alone for a few hours, trying to find a safe way out of the Qliphoth, when the Qliphoth itself started to rumble and shake. It became increasingly more clear that now the Qliphoth was no longer safe and you needed to escape the demon tree now. For once, you thanked Nico’s crazy driving as she led the van directly down the Qliphoth’s stalk as it slowly broke apart behind.

“Nero, jump in!” Nico yelled.

You could see the van drive past Nero’s figure as Trish slammed open the door and held her hand out. You wanted to stick your head out to help, but didn’t want to get in the way. Trish struggled to reach for him, almost losing him to the falling debris, but she managed to grab his hand and swiftly drag him inside the van.

“Where’s Dante?!” Nero screamed.

“He’s got this. We gotta go, now!” Trish answered.

The van was quiet for a moment, save for the sound of the van zooming by and the crumbling demon tree behind it, before Nero spoke a bit more quietly. “So this guy Vergil, you know him?”

Your eyes instantly widened hearing that name. “Vergil?!”

The van hit a bump and everyone staggered over. Nero nearly fell out of the van before the door came slamming closed. Everyone re-composed themselves and Nero brought himself back up to his feet. “Dante said that guy’s my father…” he stated a bit quietly before raising his voice. “What the hell is going on, Mom?!”

You told Nero about Vergil before, but not by name. Why did Dante suddenly tell him now despite being content with saying nothing? Unless… “Vergil’s here?!”

“Yeah, V became Vergil by fusing with that bitch, Urizen!”

V? V became…? 

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no… It wasn’t just coincidence that V felt so much like Vergil. He WAS Vergil. Then… he knew? He saw you and said nothing about it this whole fucking time?!

“Mom, answer me!” came Nero’s voice, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“Vergil… IS your father,” you confessed, looking down at your hands. “But I thought this whole time he was off somewhere else or possibly DEAD. I never thought that…”

Your voice trailed off, trying to piece together how the hell V was Vergil all along. Nero seemed to voice your own thoughts by screaming, “This doesn’t make any SENSE!!!”

He slammed his fist against the van door in his rage and then stumbled forward and slammed both fists against the jukebox. You didn’t blame him for his rage. You felt your own bubbling in your chest at the thought that Vergil was here this WHOLE time and he never once… Or did he? Was that what asking about your “story” was all about? Why didn’t he just come out and say it was him? Why did he keep it a secret this whole time?!

“I know you hate Vergil, but you can’t kill your own father!” Trish told, trying to get him to hold it together.

“It’s true,” came Lady’s voice from the kitchen, soft and full of sorrow. “You’d never recover from that.” She started to approach Nero, trying her best to comfort him. “You saved us, you should be proud! Now you can put all this behind you and-”

As soon as Lady’s hand touched Nero’s shoulder, he shrugged away from her touch and pointed towards the driver. “Nico! Stop the car!”

“No chance! After all this, are you insane?!”

The car grew silent for a moment and he looked to you for an answer. You didn’t want to lose your son, but you would be lying if you said you didn't want to also kick Vergil’s ass. Nero could see the rage and confusion as plain as day on your face. That seemed to be a good enough answer for him. “Fine. I’ll go by myself!”

With that, he swiftly leapt from the moving van into the debris-filled sky. No no no nO NO! You ran for the door, watching your son’s figure disappear in the distance. “NERO!!!” you screamed, feeling that familiar pit of fear well inside your chest as he became a speck in the sky.

\-----

**15 June, PM 6:56**

Nico brought all the girls back to the Devil May Cry office to wait it out before she went back out to look for Nero. You insisted on going with her, but she wouldn’t have any of it and insisted more you get some rest. She lovingly put it as, “Look, I can’t save two hotheads at once.” 

You were mad, even though she did have a point. If you found your son alive and well, you would be incredibly relieved and then also want to go fight Vergil as well. All you could do was wait and see… And waiting was not your schtick. You simply couldn’t keep still. There were several times you stood outside the office to watch the streets for any sign of Nero or Nico’s van. In fact, one time as you stood outside you watched the Qliphoth slowly crumble to the ground. The thought that the Qliphoth was suddenly gone was both a relief and worrying at the same time. It meant someone had gone to the underworld to sever its roots, but who? Why hadn’t Nero found his way home yet?

Lady had been trying to coax you back inside for the last thirty minutes and you mostly ignored her worried pleas. She tried again one more time, saying she managed to make some dinner, when you finally considered the offer. Your stomach did grumble rather loudly, after all. You turned into the office as you suddenly heard the soft hum of an engine in the distance. Instantly snapping your head towards the street, you saw the familiar van racing down towards you. Nero could clearly be seen in the passenger’s seat, causing a smile to stretch across your face.

As the van came to a halt, you exhaled all your worry as tears streamed down your face. Nero looked to you in confusion before he was assaulted with a hug. He didn’t fight it this time, just accepted your worried embrace and all the berating soon to come. “Don’t EVER do that again!” you sobbed into his shoulder. “I thought I lost you.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” he told, rubbing your back as you softly cried in his arms.

You knew it most likely would happen again since your line of business was a dangerous one, but he was your son after all. You lost him once, you would be completely broken if you lost him again. As you pulled away, wiping your tears from your face, you noticed his arm was different. “Ah, I’m sorry! I’m being a mess right now and- Wait…” You poked at his arm, which was no longer robotic and was now fleshy and warm. “When did you get a human arm?”

“Uh… Kind of a long story,” he told, rubbing the back of his neck. As you took him inside the office to sit down, he filled you in on what happened. V told him that Urizen was Vergil and Dante knew. That’s why Dante was so hellbent to fight him. When Nero left the van, he didn’t kill Vergil like everyone feared, he went to stop Vergil and Dante from killing each other. Afterwards, Vergil and Dante left to sever the Qliphoth roots.

During the conversation, you noticed he was holding the book V… or Vergil had. “Did he give you that?”

Nero looked down at it, gesturing in regards to it. “Oh, yeah. I beat his ass, he told me he wouldn’t lose next time, then said to hold onto this. It really is just full of weird ass poetry.”

“Huh…” You looked down at your hands, still mulling over the thought of Vergil in regards to recent events. You were still so angry at him, disappearing for all these years, then reappearing again but avoiding any subject that led to him uncovering his identity. But he did promise to come back… Though he was now stuck in the underworld. But when he made that promise, he fully intended to fight to the death with Dante, so what was the truth? And Dante himself knew that Urizen was a part of Vergil but never told you?!

“Mom?”

Nero’s voice broke you out of your thoughts, which was a good thing considering your head started to swirl around too much trying to uncover what Dante and Vergil were really thinking. “Yeah?”

“You were angry, too. I saw it in the van. You also had no idea, huh?”

You shook your head, trying not to pry back into the spiraling thoughts in your mind again. “No, I didn’t. I mean, I had some suspicions, but I really believed them to just be a coincidence and that son of a bitch never said anything this whole time. Dante never said anything either and he knew about Vergil being your father!”

“Yeah, well we both know Dante’s not the responsible type,” he stated.

It grew quiet between you two as a new thought surfaced in your mind. _Dante and Vergil are stuck in the underworld, huh?_ That gave you a chilling idea as your mind gravitated to Fortuna. Usually, you tried your best not to think of Fortuna, but for once it gave you a solution to getting the boys back, especially since you so badly wanted to kick their asses. You suddenly rose from the couch and headed around the back.

“Hey, where are you going?” Nero asked, a bit concerned.

“I’m going to ask Nico if I can borrow her father’s notes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter is done! \\(^0^)/ This will be the only chapter that relies heavily on the DMCV game. Everything afterwards is free-reign. Just wanted to get some establishing story out of the way first.
> 
> Poems referenced:  
> ⚈ Fic Title - The Divine Image  
> ⚈ Chapter Title - Earth's Answer  
> ⚈ All of V's poems in order - Never seek to tell thy love, Love and harmony combine, Proverbs of Hell, The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, and Auguries of Innocence.
> 
> All of which are by William Blake, of course lol


	2. Throw All Pity On the Burning Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few weeks of waiting and hard work, the gang was finally able to go to the underworld to drag the knuckle-headed twins back. However, they didn't expect the kind of fight that broke out.

**15 June, PM 7:28**

Nero previously disclosed to you what had happened behind the scenes in Fortuna a few days after you reconciled. It was part of the reason why the thought of Fortuna haunted you so. The very thought that you were right, that the Order barely cared about the lives of the citizens and only cared about pushing their own agenda, even to go so far as to put the whole island at risk for their “Savior,” occupied your thoughts often. However, there was one thing that was particularly useful from Agnus’ otherwise cursed notes that you remembered reading - how to make a minor Hell Gate. You convinced Nico to help you make it while the others urged you to wait a little while to see if they would eventually make it back on their own. And so you waited, and waited, and waited…

**26 July, PM 3:12**

A few weeks passed by since you were told to wait and even Lady and Trish started to worry Dante would never return. They made jokes that perhaps he didn’t want to come back, or at least wasn’t in a hurry to, but by that point they agreed that making a minor Hell Gate with some extra security around it wouldn’t hurt. After everyone was in agreement, the game plan was discussed - the Hell Gate had to be far away from the city just in case something went wrong and while it was expected that all of them could fight off the demons coming through, Lady and Trish would specifically stand guard in the human world while you and Nero went to retrieve the knuckle-headed twins. Only problem after the plan was resolved was the actual construction of the Hell Gate. The structure itself wasn’t going to be much of a problem, but it needed to be powered by a Devil Arm. The only one who usually had access to Devil Arms was Dante and all the ones that were previously in the office for your disposal were pawned off none other by himself to pay for rent and fancy coats. Typical.

Nico chimed in, saying she could also create a Devil Arm since she created Dr. Faust for Dante using the same notes from her father, but they would likely need to summon a strong enough demon in order for it to work. She surmised that possibly getting her hands on a Fury would be good enough. It was then agreed upon that may be a better plan than to attempt to track down and ask to borrow Dante’s previous Devil Arms. You were both disappointed and relieved because you didn’t have to pester people you’d rather not talk to, but the thought of you and your son playing Good Cop/Bad Cop on these poor souls was amusing. Everyone voted Nero for the Bad Cop role, sending you into a laughing fit.

So that was how the official plan came together - summon a Fury, make it into a Devil Arm, construct a very small Hell Gate on the outskirts of town, then use the Devil Arm to power the Hell Gate so you and Nero could drag the twins back as Lady and Trish stood guard. Not too complicated, right?

**08 August, PM 12:46**

Nico was hard at work on the Hell Gate for nearly two weeks with some help from the others. Nero was the only other one in the group who worked on fixing stuff, so he was primarily the one who helped her out. You and Lady often took turns bringing food or fetching materials. After those two weeks, the Hell Gate was finally complete and only needed to be powered on. The Fury Devil Arm, which you all lovingly called Fast & Furious, was the last key to opening up the portal to the underworld. 

Nico really pulled out all the stops on this one. You _really_ needed to think of a good enough reward for her then, but one that was fitting for both her work with the weapons and with the Hell Gate. Ebony and Ivory probably weren’t going to cut it on their own at that point, but that was a problem for later.

“Alright, so F ‘n’ F will act like a key, so you gotta sorta use it as one,” Nico explained, handing the Devil Arm to Nero. She directed his attention to the small, podium-like structure next to the gate. “Just gotta slip it in there and turn the key and it should open.”

Nero took the weapon into his hand and stepped forward, examining the supposed keyhole and then the gate itself. “A key, huh?” He flipped it around in his hand, examining Nico’s handy work. She crafted it as a leather bracer with two long, jagged red blades protruding down. Nero slipped it onto his arm as he walked toward the gate, the blades swaying past his knees. “Not the nicest ‘key to the city’, but if it’ll drag those dumbasses back here then I guess it’ll do.”

Nero then stabbed the Devil Arm downward and turned it as Nico said. Fast & Furious disintegrated into a red glow around his arm before it traveled into the Hell Gate, almost as if the gate were absorbing the energy of the Devil Arm’s glow. The red glow spread across the surface of the Hell Gate and split itself down the middle, slowly opening like two doors. As the portal opened fully, the dark and gnarled surroundings of the underworld revealed itself in full to the party. 

You thought yourself lucky, considering there wasn’t a horde of demons waiting on the other side, and shared a glance with Nero. He had a fire in his eyes, but one of determination rather than rage. It took one glance at Trish and Lady’s readied stances to let you know it was time. “Alright, let’s go.”

You and Nero headed into the gate, on your way to bring back and knock some sense into your son’s father and uncle.

**08 August, PM 2:12**

After defeating several batches of demons, you pondered aloud that maybe you were lost again, much to Nero’s distress. However, you soon heard the loud clashing of metal as you approached a large coral-like structure. You might have thought it could be more demons until the sounds of grunts and cries reached your ears. If it really was them, then you were only _half_ right about approaching more demons. “I think it’s them,” you told, looking to Nero.

As you both went to peek around the corner, you could hear someone skid to a halt, followed by a nasally laugh. “Getting tired, Dante?”

That voice… It most definitely had to be. Nero watched as you bolted around the corner, walking straight towards the man you hadn’t seen in forever - Vergil. His attire was different and he looked older, but there was no mistaking his slicked back silver hair, stoic face, and broad frame. His face, however, seemed less serious since the last time you saw him. He wore a genuine, playful smile towards Dante, who knelt over the ground across from him.

Then his icy blue eyes connected with your fiery ones and his joyful expression fell. He instantly sheathed his sword. “[Y/N]?”

“Hey, Verg,” you replied, feigning a smile. There was clear animosity in your voice despite the sugary tone you took. “I would say it’s been a while, but it seems I just saw you not too long ago.”

“[Y/N]…”

“Oh, you’re here!” grunted Dante from the floor. He laughed a bit before falling backward and laying out on the hard, gnarled ground. “I needed a break, anyway.”

“Oh, no no no no no,” you told, pulling a shortened Silver Siren from your hip. You clicked a button on its side which elongated it to its normal size, the blade suddenly threatening to stab Dante in the chest. You internally thanked Nico for this new mod. “I’m pissed at both of you. You’ve both got some explaining to do.”

“Oh boy-”

“Mom,” Nero called out, placing a hand on your shoulder as he caught up to you. “I just got through this with these assholes, I don’t want to break it up with you guys, too.”

“Ohhh, Mommy and Daddy’s first fight-”

“You wanna fucking test it, Dante?” You shoved the blade closer to his face, glaring daggers into him.

He shrugged and fell back over with a sigh, before inching away so he could get up from the ground. “As much as I love a good fight, kid’s right. There’s better ways to handle our differences.”

“Says the one who was just fighting his brother again,” Nero chimed in, anger in his voice. 

“We were simply sparring,” Vergil spoke up. His expression of shock had softened into one that was almost silently pleading, both at you and your son. A fire seemed to burn inside you at the very sight of him.

“Then let’s spar,” you suggested, raising your glaive towards Vergil instead. “I need to let off some steam, anyway.”

“Mom-”

“Nero,” Your voice was stern and unmoving. “Please trust me on this. I’ve got a score to settle, too, but I don’t plan on dying or killing.”

All was silent for a moment as Nero took in your words. You were almost afraid to look at him, to see the disappointment in his eyes after all he’d been through. You heard him sigh behind you, looking between his two parents. Vergil was unmoved, also looking between the two of you, but his eyes mostly scanned your face, tracing the features that were different and remained the same, analyzing the creases in your brow and the fire in your eyes. You saw his lips part slightly, unsure if he meant to speak before Nero surprised you when he said, “Okay, fine. I know how much beef you have, but if it looks like it’s getting ugly, I’m putting a stop to it. Alright?”

A small smile appeared on your lips, satisfied with his answer. “Sounds fair to me.” You spun your glaive around your arm before sweeping it around and striking Dante with its flat end, knocking him onto his ass before he could summon his sword. “I’ll deal with you later. You’re just a sideshow, I’m here for the main event,” you told, pointing your blade back at Vergil.

“Alright then, I guess,” Dante choked, attempting to sit up before he gave up and lied back on the ground. “Coulda just told me to sit this one out, but whatever. Like mother, like son.”

Your eyes burned their rage into Vergil’s, whose eyes seemed a bit too somber to fit his stoic face. He seemed… hesitant. He didn’t even raise his sword against you. It somehow pissed you off more, like he wasn’t taking you seriously or something. You rushed towards him, yelling as you flew, and he quickly deflected your blade with his sheath. You turned for another strike, which was yet again met with his scabbard. He was incredibly fast and read your movements carefully, blocking each one nonchalantly. Strike upon strike, he didn’t really move at all, just deflected your attacks with seemingly minimal effort. You feigned another strike, but quickly turned to sweep his feet from beneath him, catching him off guard.

He fell to the ground and quickly rolled onto his knees, blocking the threat of your blade again with his still sheathed. With your glaive bearing down on his scabbard, you glared down at the face that drove you mad. “Fight me seriously,” you barked. “Draw your blade!”

“I don’t need to,” He muttered, suddenly drawing upon his strength to push you back, sending you skidding across the ground. “Nor do I want to.”

“Why not?!” You cried, regaining your footing. “You had no trouble hurting me before, why is it different now?!”

“That’s-”

His words were cut short as you charged forth again, feigning a thrust with your glaive when you actually slid behind him and smacked the flat end of your blade against his back. He grunted and moved quickly, instantly blocking your new onslaught of attacks - quick slices from the left and right, a spinning slash, a strike from above, and a quick thrust of your blade did nothing to stagger his defense. You didn’t want to resort to it, but as you jumped in the air to bring your glaive down upon him you let out a sonorous cry that resonated across the underworld. Your blade chipped his sheath with such force and your cry sent him staggering back as you landed.

You aimed for his shoulder, blocked. He rose and you aimed for his legs, blocked. Each stab, jab, and slash - all blocked. He didn’t go on the offensive at all, just watched your movements and used his sheath to block each and every attack as he stood his ground. It concerned you and also made you pissed all the more. With another swing towards his shoulders, he grabbed the handle of your glaive just underneath the blade and attempted to toss it from you. You refused to let go, flying with it and spinning in the air to land on your feet. You skidded away from him, distanced by a running length, and his refusal to fight you was clear as day.

“Fight me, dammit!” You shouted. “Take me seriously!”

“No.” His voice and stance were firm as you locked eyes. “I’ve seen you fight. I mean no offense, but you’re not my equal in battle and I don’t want to hurt you.”

You physically winced, feeling the bite of his words. If he refused to take you seriously, then you were going to make him. “You’re underestimating me, then,” you retorted, running the distance between. He probably was expecting another feigned attack, so you went for him head on, clashing your blade with his scabbard again. You were caught in a standstill, your blade digging into the wood of his sheath, partially destroying the beautiful craftsmanship. It was one slash against the many nicks and dents in the wood, but you made sure to really dig it in. “Why did you leave? Why didn’t you say anything? Why aren’t you taking me seriously?!”

Vergil held his ground against you, struggling a little to keep your blade back with both hands on his scabbard. He scanned your blade, mere inches from his face, then stared down it towards your enraged face as you demanded answers. “Fear.”

He used his strength to push you away but you reacted quickly. You whipped Leviathan out and grappled it onto his thigh, pulling yourself back into him and shoving your shoulder into his chest. He stumbled back with a sputtering cough and suddenly you felt a hand on your shoulder. You flinched away from it, still in fight mode, but looked back to see your own son.

“That’s enough,” he told, giving you a knowing glance before staring back at Vergil, who held his hand to his chest but quickly regained composure.

You snapped your head back towards Vergil, staying back for now, but not retracting Silver Siren just yet. “What do you mean, fear?”

Vergil let out a heavy sigh, relaxing his stance even if yours didn't. “What V said… What I said was true. When I met you, I had lost everything years before. I was afraid of growing attached and losing again.” He tore his gaze away from you, choosing a spot on the ground instead as he grasped for words. “And I knew I was already getting attached.”

“So you chose to leave and lose more family anyway, smooth,” came Dante’s voice from behind you. He still hadn’t moved from his spot on the ground.

You retracted your glaive and attached it to your side before walking over to kick Dante in the side with the flat end of your foot. “I’m pissed at you, too,” You told. “You knew he was V and you never told me!”

“Well, I’ve got my reasons, too,” Dante groaned, sitting up this time. “I knew your history and I knew you’d go running in without thinking if you knew he was Vergil.” Dante grunted as he rose to his feet, looking you straight in the face as he explained. “As far as I knew, my brother was still an asshole and I was afraid one of you might kill each other, and I didn’t want you to go through that.”

“So your same reasoning with me?” Nero inquired.

Dante softly nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

The air grew quiet while you took in Dante’s explanation. He was trying to protect you. He wasn’t always the best at communicating, but it was his own way of looking out for you. It made sense, even though you wish he was a little more forthcoming, but as you sighed you could feel all your anger towards him escape with it. Your body felt slightly lighter then. However, your rage wasn’t fully depleted just yet. You turned towards Vergil and gave him your full, undivided attention. “And you didn’t want to lose everything again so you... just up and left without saying goodbye?”

Vergil closed his eyes as if holding back some internal pain caused by your words and the intermingling rage and sorrow that dripped from your voice. “Not my greatest decision since I just recently learned that leaving you meant leaving more family behind or, in actuality, losing more family again.”

_Losing more family again._ Dante never liked to talk about it, but you learned from Morrison that the woman in the picture on Dante’s desk who shares Trish’s resemblance was Dante’s late mother, who he lost at a very young age. No one really knew what happened to their father, Sparda, but it’s long been assumed he died. Those words stuck with you. You crossed your arms, still wanting more answers. “Why were you gone for so long? Why didn’t you say anything as V?”

“It’s a very long story,” he sighed. “But to make it short, I was trapped here, in the underworld, for quite a long time. I’ve thought about returning to you on many occasions, but I had already thrown myself into a situation I couldn’t escape for the longest time. V helped me realize all the wrong I had done, especially with you.” His gaze finally met yours again and the sorrow in his face was so uncharacteristic that it felt a little unsettling and you wanted it to stop. “I never said anything as V because I feared you might not believe me or that the timing wasn’t right. We were racing against the clock with the Qliphoth, so I didn’t want to overwhelm you anymore than necessary.”

He took a few steps closer to you, closing the distance somewhat, but still leaving you space to think. “I _was_ planning to tell you everything when it was over like I promised. I owe you at least that much.”

So many feelings began swirling around in your chest. There was still some rage leftover from the hurt of his departure, but the majority of it seemed to be overtaken with sorrow and confusion, questioning and understanding. So many thoughts and what-ifs clouded your mind with his story that the best you could do to combat it was to collect all the thoughts and feelings in one breath and expel them with a heavy sigh. 

However, the time to rest had not yet come. In your quiet moment as you mulled over your thoughts and feelings, several splotches of a black substance bubbled up from the ground around the four of you. Hell Caina and Hell Judecca emerged from the black ink while Hellbats and Chaos and Fury demons rushed in from the sidelines. Your thoughts circled around the sonar cry that erupted from you earlier. You snapped your head back to Vergil as you backed up towards the way you came. “Then you’ll have to tell me more once we get out of here.”

You slid out of the way of a Chaos careening toward you on its bladed spine as Dante yelled, “Finally! Let’s get out of here!”

**08 August, PM 3:08**

Knowing the way back made the trip much faster, but it didn’t help to have demons constantly on your tail. You could only imagine what Trish and Lady had to deal with for the past few hours, but you hoped it wasn’t as bad as having half of the underworld chasing you. You couldn’t rest for a second and always had Silver Siren at hand for every time the group dispatched a swarm of demons, it took five minutes for another to replace it. At least it was an easier time knowing all the boys had your back. It was fun fighting alongside Nero despite the danger it posed to the both of you and you loved to laugh at Dante’s antics. Vergil seemed more removed and calculative, but there were a few close calls where a Fury or Chaos got too close for comfort and he rushed in with lightning speed to your aid. You still thought he was underestimating you and told him so. He just cracked a small smile before rushing towards more demons.

Finally, the Hell Gate exit was in sight and the end to this hell was quickly approaching. However, you didn’t know the situation in the human world yet, so you turned your back on the gate in order to face off against the current batch of demons. You were glad to see the boys had the same idea as well. You wanted to make it a little more interesting, though. “Whoever kills the least has to do chores around the office for the next week!”

“Oh hell no!” yelled Nero, who instantly DT’d and rushed forward into the fray. It admittedly caught you off guard since you hadn’t seen this new DT before now. He looked similar to the Angelos back in Fortuna, but with his own touches added on. It was a little off-putting, but he used to be a member of the Order and also lost a very dear friend from the same organization. You remembered him telling you about Credo. Perhaps the new form paid homage to him.

“Oh, come on! The office isn’t in _that bad_ a shape!” Dante cried, swinging his sword wildly into a pack of demons.

“Let’s face it, Dante, even since childhood you’ve never been one for cleanliness.” Vergil rushed forward into a group as well, swinging his katana so fast that his arm barely seemed to move between each cut and slice.

You were determined to beat them at this little game, so you went in full force. Whipping Leviathan out, you anchored it in the ground next to a Hell Caina, which was immediately met with your foot to its face. The impact sent its head flying. One down. More surrounded you, but it took three calculated swings of your glaive to knock them out. Four down. You caught something flying your way out of the corner of your eye. You leaned back in time as a curved blade attached to several slimy, noodly appendages soared past just inches away from your face. The Hell Judecca retracted its arm, but not before you grabbed hold to get closer. You jabbed your blade in once, twice, three times for good measure. It slumped to the floor. Five down.

You heard a loud boom and caught sight of… a rocket whizzing past you? Another boom and a demonic cry sounded out behind you. As you turned, you found a dead Hellbat. “Hurry up, buttercup,” came Dante, who you saw strapping back Kalina Ann before summoning his sword again. “Unless you wanna scrub for a week!”

“Didn’t know you liked to steal kills!” you yelled after him, though that did give you an idea. If you wanted to play dirty, you could definitely do that. You weren’t sure how many the others had gone through, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a leg up in the game. Question was, who would you sabotage? You wouldn’t do that to Nero, and while poking fun at Dante was a good pastime you highly doubted he would follow through with cleaning up his own office. That left only one other option as your target.

You latched onto a Hellbat with Leviathan and reeled yourself in, stomping out its flame in the process. Six down. Between the rapid slices, Vergil turned his head to see you, caught off guard by your presence. “Tired of your own corner?”

You rolled out the way of a spinning Chaos then chased it around, waiting for an opportunity. As soon as it uncurled itself and stood still, you swung your glaive hard and broke the spikes off its back. Leviathan latched onto its back, launching it into the air. You kicked the demon to turn it around then plunged your blade into its stomach. Seven down. “I got a little lonely with no demons to keep me company over there. Thought you could use the company, too.”

Vergil unleashed a flurry of cuts with precision and grace, taking out three demons at once. He let out a small chuckle. “How sweet.”

You assumed he was being sarcastic, but the skip in your heart sent a wave of confusion rippling through your chest. It was just one saying, just one laugh, why was your heart acting this way? The mixed feelings further fueled your competitiveness and made you determined that out of everyone here, you were going to take Vergil down. 

He was much faster than he let on when you faced him, but you were always quick on your toes. When he struck his foes, you struck them harder. When he dodged or blocked, you blindsided his foes. Your number slowly rose and rose from badgering him relentlessly. At this point, you were purposefully annoying him to get under his skin, to see how he’d react. You caught glimpses of him furrowing his brow in your direction, but not much else until there was a lull in the action. He sheathed his sword for a moment and glanced at you with a smirk. “I didn’t know you liked to play dirty.”

Your cheeks flushed ever so slightly at the comment, sending another wave of confusion from your clenched heart. You were caught so off guard by his words that you were rendered speechless for a comeback. His smirk grew wider watching you desperately try to grasp onto the right words, but the voice of Nero broke you out of your thoughts. “That’s the last of them. Let’s go!”

Taking the opportunity, you quickly turned away and ran toward the exit. The light of the human world was almost blinding as you dashed forward into the bright, green forest. The air felt so much more crisp and clean as it filled your lungs. Lady and Trish seemed to be finishing their own batch of demons as you ran forward. As soon as everyone was present and accounted for, Nero quickly pressed his hand to the podium-like structure, enveloping his arm in the same red light that opened the portal initially. As the red light formed around him, the portal slowly seal like two doors closing once again. He turned and twisted the reformed Fast and Furious in his hand, checking out its craftsmanship one more time, before he went into a rage and sliced the gate into several pieces. 

As the rubble fell and settled, there was finally some peace and quiet… Though only for a moment.

“Trish,” Dante greeted, gesturing to each woman. “Lady.”

“You’ve been gone for two months and that’s all you have to say?” came Trish, placing a hand on her hip.

“Typical.” Lady crossed her arms in front of her, shooting her disapproving glare into him. “If it weren’t for Morrison, you wouldn’t have an office right now.”

“Which is exactly why I asked Morrison to protect it in case I went missing,” Dante declared, a bit proud of himself for his forethought.

Vergil walked out from behind his brother, slowly, almost sheepishly. Lady’s face suddenly dropped and then scrunched up in a matter of seconds. She huffed and stuck her hip out, leaning into her crossed arms. “I know you’re Nero’s father, but I’m definitely not ecstatic to see you. Not after all the shit you pulled.”

Vergil started to turn away, shrinking a bit in stature, before Dante patted him on the back reassuringly. “Can confirm that he’s no longer the Vergil we knew. No more power trips, no more tearing the city apart with giant structures, right?”

Dante gave him an especially hard smack across the back which nearly made him stumble. He shot an icy stare towards his brother, who only had a cheeky grin to offer. He shuffled in place a little before recomposing himself, standing tall and firm. You hadn’t seen him act this awkward since you first met. “That’s right. I’ve realized how… meaningless and foolish my desires and actions were. I’m… sorry for all the trouble and grief that I’ve caused.”

Trish turned to watch Lady’s reaction, probably wondering how well she was taking an apology from a man who once manipulated her and worked with her evil father. She glanced between the twin brothers, studying each of their faces. There was a look of disdain on her face when she laid eyes upon Vergil, but her face softened a bit when Dante met her gaze with a serious, small nod. She sighed and unfolded her arms. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

“Fair enough,” Vergil replied.

“Okay, y’all, while I’m glad we’re having this heartfelt reunion, can we skedaddle on back?” Nico chimed in. She bent over sluggishly with her hand on her stomach. “I’m starving!”

As if on time, your stomach let out a small growl in agreement. “A nice, hot meal sounds really good right now.”

“Right?! So let’s get on back to the van!”

Everyone agreed and climbed into the van. Nico and Nero took the front as usual while everyone else took the seats in the back. As Dante ducked inside, he chimed “Oh yeah! By the way, what was our final score? I got 19.”

“17,” you proudly proclaimed, smiling at Dante who whistled your way and especially at Vergil, whose brow furrowed at you.

“...16,” Vergil announced sadly, giving a defeated wave of his hand.

“I got 17, too,” came Nero from the front.

“What was the bet this time?” Trish inquired, catching on a little to the game you initiated.

You playfully nudged Vergil in the shoulder, seeing his eyes widen in disbelief at his defeat. “Verg is going to be our maid for the week.”

Lady let out a short, hearty laugh. “French dress and all, right?”

Vergil instantly turned towards you, his icy stare upon you. “I would’ve won if a certain someone didn’t get in my way.”

You placed your hand on your chin in thought, looking Vergil up and down. “You know what? I think a French maid dress would look very flattering on you.”

As Lady chuckled in delight, Vergil narrowed his eyes at you. “You can’t be serious.”

You shrugged, flashing a cheeky grin. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

Vergil let out a low, guttural groan. “Curse you and your game.”

You joined Lady in her laughter, giggling to yourself at the mental image. Your head lightly rested on his shoulder for a moment and as you realized it you quickly glanced up at him. He looked at you with a somber look in his eyes and a small, loving smile on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you really part of the Sparda fam if you don't have at least one battle in lieu of an argument or due to misunderstandings? 🤔 Sorry for the delay between chapters! I had work and a sudden influx of side jobs coming in. Might be another big delay before the next chapter for the same reason. ^^;; This chapter was hard to get rolling at first, so I hope it came out okay and that you guys like it!
> 
> Poems referenced:  
> ⚈ Chapter Title - "When early morn walks forth in sober grey" by ya boi, William Blake


	3. Her Thorns Were My Only Delight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While waiting on Morrison to show up with a job, you caught up with the twins, started a new competition, and contemplated the new and old changes between you and a certain devil.

_“Would you like to hear one?”_

_You looked over at the man sitting on your couch, one of your blankets draped over his form. You caught yourself staring a little too long as he waited for your approval. It was just very surprising that, for once, he offered to share something so personal to him. You looked down at the small book within his hands. Despite its age, it looked well loved and taken care of. The leather still looked fairly new and the gold embellishments still shone in the light. That book of poetry must’ve meant a lot to him. You nodded your head. “Sure.”_

_He casually opened the book, effortlessly finding the page he needed. He took a moment to clear his throat before his lips parted in reciting the poem._

_“A flower was offer’d to me,  
Such a flower as May never bore;  
But I said ‘I’ve a pretty Rose-tree,’  
And I passed the sweet flower o’er._

_Then I went to my pretty Rose-tree,  
To tend her by day and by night,  
But my Rose turn’d away with jealousy,  
And her thorns were my only delight.”_

_He snapped the book closed and slid it back into his jacket. You stood there in awe, realizing how captivating such a simple reading was. Not just the poem itself, but the rhythm of his voice, his gentle hold on the book, the glint of passion in his eye. You finally sat down on the couch a cushion away from him. This time, he didn’t seem bothered by your presence. “That sounded really lovely,” you told, thinking over the ending of the poem. “But also kind of sad.”_

_He gave a small chuckle. “A lot of Blake’s poems are like that.” He chose a particular spot on the wall to stare at with what appeared to be a distant, somber look in his eyes. “I suppose that might be why I’m drawn to them.”_

\-----------------------------------------

**09 August, AM 10:16**

You woke with a yawn, rubbed the weariness from your eyes, and stretched the drowsy numbness out of your limbs and yet you still didn’t want to leave your bed. The indent your body made in the mattress was so well worn and comfortable that disturbing it meant this particularly cozy spot would disappear until you tossed and turned for a while the next night. You groaned, putting a hand in your bedhead. You had another dream about him, or more like recounted another memory of him - of the Vergil you fell in love with. Sometimes you wondered if he drastically changed from before, yet he felt all the same. Besides, he was rather prickly when you first met, but much like a prickly cactus you soon found he had a soft center. Sometimes you questioned what made you love him so much, why he was the only love that really got to you. Perhaps it was the satisfaction of working past his many thorns and quills, or maybe it was getting a glimpse of his soft center, or maybe some of the flowers that bloomed around his stem when he was with you. Perhaps all three at once? Cactus analogies aside, his was a love like no other… which was why it hurt so much when he left so suddenly and quietly.

_I’ve thought about returning to you on many occasions…_

Vergil’s voice rang out in your head, repeating the words he said yesterday. Maybe he still felt the same? Or did he ever feel so strongly about you in the same way you felt about him? Those words made it seem so, but you could never be too sure with him. Besides, things had changed a lot and you weren’t the same people you used to be when he slept on your couch. And no matter how much you thought about it, your mind always circled back to the same question - why _didn’t_ he return? But you remembered that you forgot to ask more about his time in the underworld when you returned to the office yesterday. Maybe that would shed some light on what happened. However, before you moved from bed, his voice rang through your mind again.

_I mean no offense, but you’re not my equal in battle…_

You groaned louder than before, rolling over to attempt throwing your legs over the side of the bed even though your body wasn’t fully awake for such an effort yet. _Not your equal, my ass,_ you thought, suddenly fueled with some determination that rejuvenated your tired body. If anything was a good motivation, it was spite.

**09 August, PM 12:44**

After going about your morning ritual, you finally took your routine walk a few blocks down to the Devil May Cry office. Upon swinging open the double doors, you were surprised by the sight of a certain devil wearing… normal clothes? You definitely would’ve mistaken him for Dante from the back if not for his slicked back hair... Unless it _was_ Dante playing a trick on you? You wouldn’t put that past him.

“Good morning,” you piped up, plopping down on the couch next to the staircase.

The figure that turned around to greet you was, in fact, Vergil. “Good morning,” he replied. A sheen of sweat covered his furrowed brow, which softened upon seeing you, and parts of his disheveled hair drooped down and stuck to his forehead. You noticed that the clutter around the desk had disappeared and Vergil appeared to be returning a wet sponge to a bucket. He went to wipe his hands on a rag atop Dante’s desk before wiping the stray strands of hair back into their proper place. “How did you sleep?”

“With the blankets pushed faaaaar away from me because it’s too damn hot,” you joked flatly, fanning yourself for emphasis. You watched a small smirk appear on his lips as you couldn’t help but chuckle. This felt familiar. “I slept alright. You?”

“Hmm, well enough,” he replied.

And suddenly the air was quiet. You could see he wanted to say more with the many glances your way, but he failed to find the right words on his tongue and so seemed very preoccupied with making sure his hands were perfectly dry. He cleared his throat and parted his lips once more, but no words came out. He set the rag back down on the desk with a soft plop. You shifted on the couch and the leather squeaked in protest. This was probably much more awkward than when you first met, but the quietness also gave you time to examine his attire. You were pretty sure Dante lent him some of his ratty clothes, or at least they looked like something Dante would wear. He wore a mauve, long-sleeved henley shirt with the buttons undone and some tears on the hem and the ends of the sleeves. The sleeves were rolled up while he worked, presumably because he was handling a sponge and bucket. He also appeared to be wearing black jeans as well. The knee-high boots with its many straps, however, stayed. You weren’t sure if the look of Dante’s clothes seemed strange on Vergil because they were _Dante’s_ clothes or because they were… slightly more form-fitting on Vergil than Dante. Probably both. Both seemed plausible.

“I realize I have yet to tell you the rest of my story,” he piped up, breaking you from your thoughts.

You suddenly realized you were probably staring a little too long and quickly looked away. You found a neatly stacked magazine rack next to you - which when did Dante have a magazine rack? - and picked up the nearest one you could find to distract you. Thankfully, it wasn’t full of swimsuit models like usual. This one was about cooking, surprisingly. You wondered who bought it. Probably not Dante. “Yeah, last I heard you were stuck in the underworld.”

“Yes,” Vergil confirmed, leaning against Dante’s desk with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Since I was a child, I’ve sought to be as powerful as my father, Sparda... perhaps even more powerful. After I left, I chased after that power and opened a portal to the underworld. I was defeated by Dante and in my defeat, I chose to banish myself to the underworld. I crossed paths with Mundus…” he trailed off for a second, causing you to look up from the magazine. He wore a pensive expression, but upon seeing your gaze he continued. “I foolishly tried to battle him even though I was still weary from my fight with Dante. I was, of course, defeated yet again, but… This time, my defeat meant my body and mind was bound as a servant to Mundus. I don’t remember much else aside from the years and years of torture before I was finally able to escape. I believe you know the rest from there.”

You placed the magazine down on your lap as soon as he finished talking. “Yeah, Nero filled me in,” you replied. Silence enveloped the room once more. Mundus tortured him and reigned over his mind and body for about twenty years? Holy shit… You really couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like. It sounded much worse than any nightmare you could conjure up, though you could definitely somewhat relate to not feeling like your body was your own. It took you years to get over the torture you endured in Fortuna, but… That was only a few weeks compared to several years. Your mind mulled over the words he told you yesterday. Did he… really think of you and wish to see you again in his darkest moments? The thought made you feel a little guilty about hating him for all those years. You saw him move to break the silence, so you beat him to the punch. “I’m… sorry you had to go through that. I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible that must’ve been.”

He gave a slow, quiet nod, his eyes still distant. “I know now my foolish actions were what lead me down that path, but… I appreciate the sentiment.” He stood up from the desk, relaxing his arms, and sauntered over to the couch. He took a seat on the opposite end, resting his arms on his legs and clasping his hands in front of him, which almost shook nervously. You placed the magazine back on the rack when you heard him mutter, “I should’ve been there for you.”

Your head snaps over in disbelief, finding his gaze turned away from you. His hands lightly and restlessly bounced in place. Somehow, the only words that could come out of your mouth were, “But you weren’t.”

His head slowly turned to meet your eyes, but he stopped himself, choosing instead to pinch his eyes shut for a moment. “I wasn’t.” 

Silence again. The silence between you wasn’t nearly this uncomfortable in the past. It was a little rocky at first, but… you could tell in the present moment both of you left a lot unsaid and it made the air around you rather stiff and threatening. Suddenly you both turned towards each other at the same time.

“Sorry, that was-”

“Sometimes, I just-”

“Oh,” you both said in unison, embarrassment present in both your voices. “Go ahead,” you offered.

“You first,” Vergil insisted.

You looked down at your hands, realizing they were just as restless as his. You’d been repeatedly lacing your fingers together and twiddling your thumbs in your nervousness. “I was just… saying sorry.”

Vergil parted his lips to speak before you both turned your heads to the sound of heavy boots coming down the creaking staircase. Dante descended before you in his usual attire, yawning and stretching his back. After he wiped the weariness from his eyes, icy blue orbs caught sight of the two of you and he smirked. “[Y/N], Vergil,” he greeted, slowly making his way to his desk. He pulled out his chair and plopped down, kicking his legs up onto the desk. His hand reached out for something but found nothing. He sat up to search his desk only to find it was wiped clean. “Oh, hard at work or hardly working?” he asked, gesturing between his desk and you. 

“You’ll find whatever you’re looking for actually in your desk for once,” Vergil informed.

Dante raised an eyebrow at him before curiously pulling open one of his drawers. “Oh,” he muttered in surprise. He closed the drawer, opened another, closed the drawer, opened another. “Ah!” He finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out and flipped open a swimsuit magazine. Typical. “I see you’ve been keeping up your end of the bet, but I’d rather you not touch my desk.”

“My part of the bet includes cleaning up the filth that is your desk.”

Dante glanced over at Vergil for a moment as he turned the page. “It’s _my_ office.”

“But not your bet,” he told, looking at you with a smirk. “And besides, the one who made the bet sabotaged me into this position so I’m cleaning whatever I want and I’ll make sure none of your signature filth is left when my time is done.”

Dante threw his head back with an exasperated sigh as he tossed his magazine onto the desk, gesturing to his twin. “So you sabotaged _him_ into this?” He crossed his arms and stared straight up at the ceiling. “Thanks, [Y/N].”

“You’re welcome,” you joked, earning an irritated glance from Dante. You held up your hands in defense. “To be fair, _I_ didn’t wanna do it, I didn’t think _you_ would follow through, and I would _never_ pin such an unfair task on my son.”

“So you can dish it, but you can’t take it?” Vergil inquired, betrayal in his voice.

“Hey, you’re _washing_ those dishes now, so no sweat off my back,” you stated, smirking as you picked up the cooking magazine again and flipped it open to a random page. You decided to annoy Vergil by specifically turning your body in a way so the magazine blocked the view of his face. Judging from the sound of his sigh, it must’ve worked. “Anyway, Dante, heard from Morrison yet?”

“I just got back yesterday, relax!” Dante swiped up his magazine again and opened it up. “Why? Lookin’ for a job?”

“You know it. Got bills to pay, and also I think your bills are coming up, too.”

Dante let out a heavy sigh. “Just got back and already gotta get back to the grind.”

“Sounds about right.” The room grew silent as you both looked through your magazines and Vergil remained on the couch for his break between cleaning. You suddenly realized how tempting the cooking magazine was. Your mouth watered at each and every picture placed with the recipes. You flipped the pages only to be greeted by the sight of creamy tomato bisque, chicken fettuccine alfredo, baked five cheese macaroni, chicken parmesan, dutch apple pie… “Reading this is a bad idea. Now I’m hungry.”

Vergil glanced over at you and smirked. “And yet you continue reading.”

You didn’t dare tear your eyes away from the pages as you retorted, “Well, what else am I gonna do while waiting for Morrison?”

“Since you were the one who put me in this mess, you could always take part in cleaning.”

You let out a slow, sarcastic laugh. “You’re so funny.”

Vergil smirked before rising from his seat and returning to his work. “Suit yourself.”

Silence enveloped the room once more, save for the turning of pages, Dante and you shuffling in your seats on occasion, and the distant scrubbing of porcelain. When your stomach actually started to groan, you decided that maybe Vergil’s judging tone was right and placed the magazine back on the rack.

“I could hear that from here,” Dante told before quirking a cheeky eyebrow up at you. “Pizza time?”

You snorted. “How big is your tab again, Dante?”

Dante flashed a big, victorious grin. “Actually, I paid it all off before I left so there is no pizza debt. Now what topping do you want, huh?” he asked, immediately picking up the phone and placing it in the crook of his neck so he could still read his magazine. He dialed the number without even looking, his gaze on you as he quirked up that eyebrow again. “Plain cheese? Pepperoni? Pineapple?”

You sighed, unable to make a decision as quick as his dialing, so you waved your hand in defeat. “Just the usual. Whatever’s fine.”

Dante gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “Suit yourself.” Dante greeted Danny on the other line, the usual pizza guy he got on the phone, and quickly caught up since he hadn’t been ordering pizza for two months. Sounded like the guy was worried he dropped dead, especially since he paid off all his debt before he disappeared. After a minute or so of informing him, Dante rattled off the usual order and hung up. “Underworld’s alright and all, but it doesn’t have pizza. Makes it pretty dreary.”

The quick mention of the underworld suddenly made a certain question surface in your mind. “Alright, so quick question… Why were you guys still fighting in the underworld?”

Dante gestured with his thumb to the bathroom behind him. “Like Verg said, just sparring.”

You recounted what Nero told you about what happened at the top of the Qliphoth and also Dante’s long history with Vergil. “So… Was that all you’ve been doing for the past two months?”

Dante suddenly looked up at the ceiling, mentally rifling through his memories and contemplating what happened down there. “Well… Other than fighting other demons on occasion, yeah.”

“So… Sparring for two whole months… but you totally weren’t trying to kill each other and everything’s just cool between you two now all of a sudden?”

Dante gave a sigh as he dramatically slapped his magazine down on his desk and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. His eyes pointed straight down at the floor as his face wore a pensive stare. “You know… We’ve been fighting ever since we were kids but since The One Day That Shall Not Be Named I lost him, he went on a power trip, and that’s when we became sworn enemies.” Dante’s words trailed off and his eyes puzzled about a certain spot on the floor before he leaned forward on his desk and gestured towards you. “Since whatever happened to him as V, you returned to his life, and he found out Nero was his son, it’s like his whole tune changed around. It was… kind of nice to have my brother back and to just fight as brothers again instead of as enemies.” He snatched up his magazine and flipped it open again. “Besides, I know you were pretty rough with him yesterday, but I don’t see _you_ trying to kill him today either so… That must mean things have changed, right?”

As the room grew quiet once again, Dante’s words left you in a contemplative state. Dante rarely seemed to have this effect on you, but once in a while he proved to have some wisdom behind his whole “wacky woohoo pizza man” facade. He changed his tune since his time as V and since you and Nero came into his life… That must be why he gave his book to Nero. It puzzled you when you saw him return with it in hand, but if he truly changed so quickly and suddenly cherished the son he had in his life… Giving him the poem book he always kept on his person would show it. As for V, he said that splitting himself in two made him realize his wrongs, not to mention when he was V he seemed very chatty with you and didn’t seem to pay much attention to anyone else. Yesterday, he also said he regretted his decision in leaving you, his new family, behind… Perhaps he was being sincere after all. The evidence in your mind piled in favor of it.

“Might I also add that we have a score that’s forever been at a stalemate?” Vergil piped up, his head poking out from the bathroom.

Oh, that’s right, he was literally in the other room the whole time. He probably heard all of that. Oops.

Dante gestured an affirming point of his thumb towards the sound of Vergil’s voice. “That, too.”

Your face scrunched up in feigned judgement as you crossed your arms at him. “Well, I hope you can keep track of another score board because I still have a bone to pick with you, Mr. You’re-Not-My-Equal-In-Battle,” you told, choosing a mocking tone for the nickname you gave him. 

Dante broke out into laughter, curling over his desk for a moment, before physically turned to address his brother face-to-face for once. “I hope you’re ready for that storm. I trained her, after all.”

“That… was a poor choice of words,” Vergil admitted, stepping more into the doorway of the bathroom with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. His face did little to hide his embarrassment. “What I meant was you’re still human, so you can’t move in a blur and if I actually dealt a blow to you, there’s no demonic blood within you to help you bounce back quickly. If I don’t hold back, just one blow could prove fatal to you.”

You hated to admit it, but he had a point. You definitely couldn’t swing your sword a thousand times by barely moving your hand like Vergil, or get impaled several times and still live like Dante… But you were stubborn and full of pride in how hard you fought to keep up with the rest of the crew, so you weren’t about to back down from your declaration. “I’ll still make you eat those words, so better keep track. I’m already up one.”

Vergil’s eyes snapped towards you with an incredulous glare. “How?”

“Uhhhh, who’s the one doing chores because of who now?” You flashed a big shit-eating grin his way. Oh, how you wished you had a mug of piping hot tea or coffee or whatever just to sip for dramatic effect. 

Suddenly, the front doors swung open and in walked Morrison with two boxes of pizza. He narrowed his eyes at Dante, who was finishing up his laughing fit behind his desk. “Saw Danny outside, figured that was proof enough you were finally back.”

“Hey, Morrison!” you greeted, happy to see him and also purposefully ignoring the hilarious look on Vergil’s face.

“Hey, [Y/N],” he quickly greeted before plopping the pizza boxes onto Dante’s desk and getting down to business as usual. “I’ve got a pretty mild gig, some troublesome demons popping up in a certain section of town. Some cash upfront, some extra after the job’s done.”

Dante gave a tired groan and leaned back in his chair. “Actually, Morrison, I’m not up for a job right now, but [Y/N]’s up for one, if you’d like to toss it her way.”

“What about it, [Y/N]?” Morrison inquired, directing his attention to you. “Want to take on this job?”

You perked up in your seat, excited you were presented with what you waited on for the past hour or so. “Sounds good. What kind of demons are we talking about?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I lied, I wrote this chapter super quick 'cuz I was having so much fun with it lol I'm honestly not sure where it'll go from here tho, so I'm not sure when I'll next update. Sorry that it's a little short! I thought it ended nicely where I left it and didn't know where else to go from there. Also, a Twitter post about ship dynamics made me realize I was unknowingly already writing my fav dynamic into this fic lolol I won't say for now, but I welcome any guesses! :P You already know one aspect from the tags.
> 
> Poems referenced:  
> ⚈ Chapter Title (and the poem spoken at the beginning) - My Pretty Rose-Tree by William Blake, as always lol


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